Author Topic: Anyone own a Kia?  (Read 5237 times)

Bikesy

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Anyone own a Kia?
« on: December 19, 2014, 05:36:22 AM »
Currently looking for a new vehicle.  Perusing autotrader and CL I've come across a few Kia spectra5's, which is the hatchback model, for what seem to be a pretty reasonable prices.  An '05 with 100k miles can be had for around $3,000.  Anybody have any experience with kia?  Thanks for the help!

cartechguy

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Re: Anyone own a Kia?
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2014, 06:10:35 AM »
Sorry, in my 20+ years in the auto industry a KIA in that year Isn't something you should pursue!!  The build quality of the KIA didn't IMPROVE until the 2008 when they REALLY turned it around!!

Bikesy

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Re: Anyone own a Kia?
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2014, 06:48:17 AM »
Good to know.  Thanks!

AgileTurtle

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Re: Anyone own a Kia?
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2014, 07:28:30 AM »
No way would I buy that car. I hate Kia anyways. The only KIA is hate more than a KIA with a loan on it is a used Kia.



Rural

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Re: Anyone own a Kia?
« Reply #4 on: December 19, 2014, 07:49:40 AM »
I'm very happy with my 2003 Kia Rio Cinco (that's the station wagon model). No major problems yet, about to hit 250K miles (125K of those are mine).


My previous vehicle was a 2001 Kia Rio (sedan model). I bought it with ~100K miles and it was going strong ~75K miles later when an idiot in a Ford F250 rear-ended me while I was sitting in traffic at a red light and totaled it. Happily, his insurance paid out more than I paid for it.


Those two vehicles have been my wheels for the past six years.


They are a bit of a pain to work on, just because everything's packed so tight in there. But that's true of almost any small car; I've had quite a few brands over the years.

Olórin

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Re: Anyone own a Kia?
« Reply #5 on: December 19, 2014, 09:14:08 AM »
As an owner of a Kia Spectra5, I couldn't disagree more.  I think they are fantastic cars, and I actually did a significant amount of research, decided on the Spectra5, and then spent several months hunting for a manual transmission.  For the price, I think they are an exceptional value (precisely because the anti Kia attitude demonstrated by some of the previous posters drives the price down).   I've had mine for over 2 years (it's a 2008 with 77k miles), and have had no problems with it.  If I remember correctly, they upgraded some of the features in 2007, so I was looking for one that year or later. 

The maintenance on it is simple, and much of it is easy to do yourself if you enjoy that kind of thing.  Additionally, the stick shift is incredibly fun to drive.  You won't win any races, but the Spectra5 has great suspension and handling, and the acceleration is reasonably responsive.  After 2 years, I still enjoy getting into it every time.

RhodyUNC

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Re: Anyone own a Kia?
« Reply #6 on: December 19, 2014, 09:23:15 AM »
For what it's worth, Olorin has never led me wrong on a purchasing decision.  That dude does his homework!

Bikesy

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Re: Anyone own a Kia?
« Reply #7 on: December 19, 2014, 04:23:30 PM »
Thanks for all the feedback.  The fact that the car is only 3k almost makes me feel like I can consider it "disposable" if need be lol.

shadowmoss

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Re: Anyone own a Kia?
« Reply #8 on: December 20, 2014, 04:09:31 AM »
My Mom has an either 2007 or 2008 Kia Rio.  She says she will drive it as long as she needs a car (she is 83).  She loves it.  I've never heard any who actually OWNS a Kia say anything bad about them.  I just wish they hadn't gotten so popular before I managed to get one.

MoneyCat

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Re: Anyone own a Kia?
« Reply #9 on: December 20, 2014, 06:02:22 AM »
I don't know how much I would trust a car whose named is the same as the acronym for "Killed In Action".  That's just asking for trouble.

Jesus Christ

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Re: Anyone own a Kia?
« Reply #10 on: December 20, 2014, 01:09:43 PM »
If you read the first page of the owners manual KIA stands for "Coming out of Asia"

Parts seem cheap. Compare fuel MPG, they tend to me not too fuel efficient to their peers. but double check the math at epa.gov website